After an incident occurs, the referee informs the VAR or is informed by them that it needs reviewing before the referee decides to review video footage on the side of the pitch or accepts the information from the VAR to make a decision.

There has been criticism of the system, including that fans in the stadium do not know what is happening, and controversial incidents, such as Manchester United's injury-time penalty winner against Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last 16 earlier this month.